Hell house
by Ladijules
Summary: When the team is called to investigate a murder, what other horrors will they find? TIVA and some McAbby. Depictions of Child abuse and Animal Cruelty not too graphic though . Rated T for images and situations. First fanfic, be nice!
1. Chapter 1

First thing: I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. Even if I DO have a brother named Mark Harmon. (Not nearly as cool as THIS Mark Harmon!)

Second: This is my first fanfic. Be nice but please review!

Third: This story is VERY loosely based on a real case. The names of the innocent (and guilty) have been changed. I happen to love cats, have 5 of them and they are all extremely pampered. Some other people are not as kind.

This story contains depictions of Child Abuse and Animal Cruelty. Eventually TIVA and McAbby. Few, very vague spoilers.

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Hell House

Chapter One

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It was a Thursday afternoon and it was quiet in the bullpen. Apparently, the extremely hot August weather was keeping the Navy crime rate to a minimum. It was just too damn hot out there for anyone to move, never mind commit a crime. There had been no new cases in more than a week. No murders, no thefts, nothing. Abby was so bored she was pulling out evidence from 5 years ago to run tests on. Ducky and Palmer had taken the last 3 days off having nothing to do down in autopsy. McGee was down in Cyber Crimes today, helping them work on some kind of encryption key they were having trouble with. Even Ziva wasn't in the bullpen. She'd been working with the intelligence team translating documents found in Iraq. Gibbs was up in MTAC with Vance making sure they had closed all the leaks regarding Domino. This meant that Anthony Dinozzo was all alone in the bullpen and bored out of his mind.

Tony stared at the pile of cold cases the Boss had dumped on his desk at the beginning of the week with disgust. He hated desk work! He had already checked all the cases. Several times. There wasn't anything new in them and no new evidence to go on. Most of them were burglary cases with the exception of a single murder case. The murder case was the only interesting one: the case of a teenage girl, Jennifer Courtland, daughter of a petty officer who had been raped and killed 10 years ago just off base. The killer had left DNA but there were no suspects. He had sent the old evidence down to Abby yesterday. She had ran the DNA through the computer again but got no hits. None of these cases were going anywhere and had nothing to keep his interest.

Tony had just pulled his game-boy out of his backpack, hoping a game of Tetras would help alleviate the boredom when he saw Gibbs fly out of MTAC and down the stairs.

"Dinozzo! Get David and McGee back here! " Gibbs shouted. Before Tony could even grab the phone to call them, Gibbs tossed a set of keys at Tony's head. "Grab your gear, Gas up the van and be out front in 10 minutes!"

Tony sat up at his desk with a glint of hope in his eyes. "We got a case Boss?"

Gibbs turned and gave Tony one of his signature glares before picking up his own phone and calling Ducky at home. "Ducky, vacations over. I need you and Palmer back here. Meet me at this address..."

As Gibbs gave the information to Ducky, Tony was calling in the rest of the team before racing out to the Van. At least the boredom would be over!

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When the team climbed out of the van at the crime scene, Tony immediately began to think that desk work might not have been so bad after all.

They were standing in waist high weeds in front of a neglected house in a rural area some 20 miles from the Navel Yard.

"This looks like something from that movie we watched Tony, yes?" said Ziva. "The one called "Arrival" I think?"

"Deliverance, Ziva, the movie was Deliverance. I can almost hear banjo's playing." sighed Tony. While he loved correcting Ziva, all the distraction in the world was not going to make this a good day. The house looked like it was still standing more out of habit than construction. There were pigs and chickens wandering around aimlessly in the yard. There was trash of all kinds everywhere. Worse than all of that though was the SMELL.

"What is that stink?" asked Ziva. She looked slightly green. She was at least doing better than McGee, who was standing by a tree a few yards away throwing up. For that matter, Tony wasn't doing too good himself and he was very glad he had skipped lunch. The stench had hit them like a wall as soon as they stepped out of the van.

"That, my crazy ninja chick, is the smell of cats. Lots of cats." Tony replied. "This is not going to be good".

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Gibbs ignored the sight and smell and marched up the the Sheriff standing in the driveway. The Sheriff was doing his best to remain calm in the face of this horror but was already turning green himself. Gibbs flashed his badge at the man. "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. What have we got here?"

"Agent Gibbs, I'm Sheriff Mark Walken. We've got a dead Petty Officer in that house. Looks like she was shot in the back in the living room. Name is Michelle Kirste. According to that woman over there" pointing to a woman standing by a grove of pine trees "she was coming to pick up her kids. The woman's husband said he shot her accidently. Thought she was an intruder because she walked in without knocking." Sheriff Walden looked at his notes. "A few things don't make sense though. First, how that guy could think anyone would intrude on a place that smells that bad is beyond me. Second, it wasn't the family that called it in."

Gibbs gave him a hard stare. "Who did call it in?"

"Some guy whose car broke down a mile back. He was looking for a place to make a phone call to the towing company. The woman over there, Karen Michaels, handed him the phone out the door to call. Guess the guy was curious. He looked in the window and saw the body. He didn't mention it, just called for a tow. Soon as he got into town, he called us to report it."

"Where is this guy now?" asked Gibbs.

"In the local hospital. I guess the guy is allergic to cats and had a pretty bad reaction to just setting foot out here." The sheriff paused. "Can't say I blame him. This place is disgusting."

"Any other information you can give us?" asked Gibbs.

"The woman's husband who said he shot her is named Steven Michaels. He's that guy standing next to her. Other residents in the house include her adult son, Kevin Kirste and Michelle Kirste's two kids, Janna and Jason Kirste. We sent the kids to the Bethesda hospital since they are Navy. Never seen two such filthy kids in my life. Covered in bruises, dirt and fleas, if you can believe it. Kevin Kirste isn't home, he works at a factory in town. We're sending out a squad to go find him. From what I got, Michelle Kirste is the woman's daughter in law. She married Karen Michaels other son, Thomas Kirste. Guess he was killed in a car accident a few months ago while Michelle Kirste was out on a ship and Karen Michaels, as the grandparent, inherited the kids until Michelle Kirste got back. As for the guy who called it in, his name is Andrew Belmont. Like I said, he's down at the hospital."

"Great" replied Gibbs. "Anything else?"

"I would advise you wear biohazard gear. The interior of the house is even worse than the outside. Completely covered in cat urine and feces. Rotting trash everywhere. Place is going to have to be condemned. We called Animal Control for you. There has be at least 200 cats in that house, some of them dead. I hope none of your team is allergic." replied the sheriff.

"Anything else?" asked Gibbs.

"Well, we can charge all the adults for endangering the welfare of a child right now, based on the living conditions. We can probably charge them for child abuse and neglect as well from what I saw of the children. We didn't want to step on your toes in the investigation though. Want me to arrest them and bring them downtown?" asked the sheriff.

"No" replied Gibbs. "We'll take care of it. These are Navy kids with a Navy mom. Its our responsibility to take care of them."

"Then I can turn this over to you with no guilty feelings about it?"

"Yep" replied Gibbs. He turned away from the sheriff and walked towards his team.


	2. Chapter 2

Already made my disclaimers.

On with the story!

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Hell house

Chapter two

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Gibbs immediately started, as he usually did, barking out orders.

"Get your biohazard gear on! We have a dead petty officer here. McGee! Photo's! Stop throwing up your guts and get in there! David! You need to bag and tag. Dinozzo! Start interviewing the residents. Over there." pointing to Karen Michaels and her husband.

Ziva and McGee grabbed the biohazard gear out of the van and suited up. McGee grabbed the camera while Ziva grabbed evidence bags. Both braced themselves and entered the house. At least the biohazard suits kept them from smelling the worst of it.

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Ziva and McGee walked into what could best be described as toxic waste dump. There was rotting bags of garbage everywhere. Literally stacked to the ceiling in some places. There was nothing there that was not covered in something disgusting. Worse were the cats. The poor things were everywhere, looking at the agents from under sofas and on top of tables. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was covered in a coat of cat leavings.

In the middle of the living room floor was the body of Michelle Kirste, dressed in Navy dress whites. She was the only clean thing in room, despite the blood stains on those whites. McGee immediately started taking pictures. The gun shot that had taken her life was immediately visible on her back.

McGee was still taking pictures of the victim, the cats and the living room when Ducky and Palmer finally arrived. As both of them were dressed in biohazard gear, McGee assumed they had already gotten a briefing from Gibbs.

"Timothy, so sorry we were late. Mr. Palmer seemed to have a hard time finding this place. He says its so remote that it does not show up for GPS directions. " Dr. Mallard said.

McGee answered "I'm not surprised. I don't think Map Quest has all these rural roads listed yet. There is the body. One Michelle Kirste, Petty Officer."

Ducky kneeled down next to the body, tenderly brushing her brown hair off her face. "My dear girl" he said "I'm so very sorry. How could someone have done this to you? Not to worry, I will take care of you and we will find out what has happened. Never fear."

Gibbs, in his own gear, walked in right behind Dr. Mallard. "What can you tell me Ducky?"

"Now Jethro, I have only just arrived! At least give me a few moments! I think the cause of death is obvious however. The good woman was shot in the back. By the amount of blood and lack of apparent movement of the body, I would say that she was killed instantly by the shot. As for time of death..." he quickly looked at his probe "I would say some 6 hours ago. Between 7 and 8 o'clock this morning. Look, there are very few signs of damage to the body, despite all the cats here. Given the number of cats and the apparent lack of food, the cats would have begun eating the body in a very short period of time. But she only has a few bite marks on her arms and legs. She has not been here for long. Mr. Palmer and I will pack her up and get her back immediately. I will be able to give you more accurate information after the autopsy."

"Thanks Ducky" he said, as Palmer came in behind him with the gurney and a body bag.

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Ziva had decided to do a walk through of the house in an attempted to get an idea of where to even start. She had already bagged and tagged several articles in the living room, including the rifle that was supposedly the murder weapon.

She walked into the kitchen. The place was a mess. What looked like months of dirty dishes were on the counter, growing mold. On the table, or at least she thought it was a table, was a towering stack of papers. Ziva found several electric and phone bills as well as a letter from Petty Officer Kirste. She glanced over the letter. It appeared that the Petty Officer was asking about her kids and letting her mother in law know she was attempting to get emergency leave to come get them. She picked up each paper with tweezers and placed them in an evidence bag. Then she wandered over to the refrigerator. There wasn't much in there. A carton of out of date milk and some rotting fruit. A look in the freezer was more interesting, if disgusting. She found the bodies of 3 cats and a litter of kittens wrapped in plastic and frozen solid. Ziva made a note of it, reminding herself to get the camera from McGee.

She then went up the stairs. She discovered three bedrooms and a bathroom, all just a filthy as the downstairs. One room she entered appeared to be the kids bedroom. Clothes were strew around the room, none of it clean. The sheets and blankets had obviously not been cleaned in months. Looking under the bed she found several more cats. Most of them hissed at her. Two others were dead, their remains down to skeletons. She shuttered in disgust. No child should be living in these conditions. She picked up a hairbrush for her evidence bag and began tearing the sheets off the bed.

"What do we got Ziva?" said Gibbs from behind her.

"This appears to be the children's bedroom. There are several cats, including a few that are dead, under the beds. I have a hair brush and the sheets for Abby so far. I checked the kitchen. I found several bills and a letter from Petty Officer Kirste. There are also several dead cats in the freezer. I have not even begun to process the other rooms up here. All I can say is that all of them appear to be in the same filthy condition as what we observed downstairs." Ziva replied.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Not yet. There is so much here that it will take months to gather everything. Also, I would say that the children can not possibly come back here Gibbs. I would gather clothing for them to wear, but all of it is in such bad condition and so dirty that it would be better to just burn them and get the children new things. I never seen anything so bad Gibbs. How could anyone live in such conditions? Its not just the smell. There seems to be little here that is not covered in feces and urine. "

"They won't be coming back. They are now in NCIS custody. We'll try and locate the next of kin for them. At least we have clear evidence of felony child neglect, if nothing else. These people are certainly going to jail". Gibbs walked out to call Vance. He wanted to keep the Director up to date. He also wanted to make sure Vance got the paperwork to offically put the kids in NCIS custody and to warn him of the adults they were about to arrest.

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Tony gave the residents of the house a long look as he walked up to them. The woman, Karen Michaels, appeared to be at least in her 50's. She was wearing dirty jeans and a stained T-shirt. Her hair was originally brown and she had made some effort to die it. The die job had been awhile ago: 2 inches of grey hair was showing at the roots. Judging by the lines on her face, she had lived a hard life, leaving an old and bitter woman.

The man, Steven Micheals, was smaller than his wife by a good 4 inches in height. He was skinny and straggly, with long unkempt hair pulled back in a pony tail. He too was wearing dirty jeans and a t-shirt. Both of them stank as bad as the house they were living in.

Given their lack of cleanliness, Tony did not hold out his hand for a hand shake from them. "Hello. Special Agent Dinozzo, NCIS. Want to tell me what happened here and why there is a dead Petty Officer in your living room?"

The woman gave her husband a frightened look before shaking her head. Tony glanced at the husband. Steven Michaels gave him a belligerent look. " Didn't know it was her. Thought it was someone breaking into the house. Shot her before I realized who it was. I didn't hear her knock. She just barged right in. It was an accident. Thats all."

"Thats it? You thought she was breaking in?" Tony asked in astonishment.

"Yep" the man replied.

"It never occurred to you to check your target before you shot her? I mean, she's wearing a bright white uniform. How many people out here wear a bright white uniform?" asked Tony.

The man just looked at him without answering. Tony gave it another shot. "When did this happen?"

"This morning." Steven Michaels stated shortly.

"In case you haven't noticed, its afternoon. Mind telling me why you didn't call it in when it happened?" Tony asked.

"I would have gotten around to it. I was busy this morning. Had to fix the pig pen".

"You know, your not even making sense. Most people really don't want a dead body in their living room. It makes it look pretty bad. "

Tony looked at woman. "And you didn't call it in because....?"

The woman again gave a frightened look at her husband and shook her head. Tony could tell he wasn't going to get anything out of her with her husband there.

Tony turned back to the husband "You got a better excuse to why you left a dead body in your living room for several hours without bothering to call anyone?"

The man gave Tony a sickening smirk. "I'm not talking to you. I know my rights. I want a lawyer".

Tony gave them a stare worthy of Gibbs. "Good, because your going to need one." He pulled out his handcuffs.

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It was late in the evening. They had given up for the night on gathering evidence at the house. Animal Control had arrived around 5:00 and started attempting to capture the cats. Gibbs wished them luck. He had stopped counting how many cats were in the house after he passed 150. The Animal control officers were going to have a long night. Gibbs had the house taped off and let them get to work. The Michaels family, including the step son, was down in lock up. He wasn't going to deal with them until he had more information.

He had sent Tony and Ziva to the hospital to check on the kids. McGee was down with Abby. He headed down to Autopsy in hopes of getting something out of Dr. Mallard.

He walked into the autopsy bay to find Dr. Mallard and Palmer working over the body of Michelle Kirste. "What have you got for me Ducky?"

"Hello Jethro." Ducky said without looking up. "I can confirm the cause of death. This poor woman was certainly shot in the back. The shot went through and cut off her aorta. She died very quickly if not immediately. She didn't even have a chance."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Only that it appears she was shot at very close range. Abby has her clothing. I'm sure she could tell you more. Jethro, I really can not believe that this was done because the man thought she was a trespasser."

"I agree with you Ducky."

"So why did he kill her?" Dr. Mallard wanted to know.

"I don't know. Yet." Gibbs answered. He turned and headed back to the elevator.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers made on the first page. If your that interested, go look.

On with the story (Getting to TIVA and McAbby. Really.)

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Hell House

Chapter 3

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Tony and Ziva arrived at Bethesda hospital hot, tired and very sweaty. Being in biohazard gear in 95 degree heat did that to a person. Even Tony had joined the biohazard gear crowd before they left. Gibbs had assigned to him bagging and tagging evidence in one of the bedrooms after he sent Steven and Karen Michaels back to NCIS for interrogation. Ziva had thought he look ridiculous in his gear but kept her amusement to herself. His hair was now wet from sweat and his clothing was rumpled and stained. He looked decidedly un-Tony like, but still very attractive. She held back a few steps to observe his back side. It looked very cute with his jeans sticking to his skin.

Ziva caught up to him just as he reached the counter. He pulled his badge out and showed it to the receptionist. "Special Agent Dinozzo. NCIS. We're here to check on 2 kids: Janna and Jason Kirste. They were brought in this morning. Can you tell me where to find them?"

The receptionist didn't even look up. "Third floor. Pediatrics." she answered.

They headed towards the elevator. When the doors opened they entered with Ziva taking a spot in back. Tony pushed the button for the third floor. This of course gave Ziva a prime viewing area of his butt again. A very pleasant sight. If he had any idea of how often she stared at his butt when he wasn't looking, he'd tease her about it for months. She gave a purely mental laugh. It was probably as often as he stared at her butt when he thought she wasn't looking. She sighed. The only time she had really gotten to look had been on that undercover assignment a few years ago. He would look at her butt but just didn't seem to have the nerve to try touching. He probably thought she would kill him. Little did he know she would have welcomed his trying. She had thrown out a few hints to him that she was interested but he didn't seem to be picking up on them. Either he was really oblivious to more subtle invitations or he just wasn't interested. The idea that he might not be interested bothered her. Or was he just intimidated?

The elevator stopped with a ding and they exited on the third floor. Tony immediately ran into someone familiar.

"Dr. Pitt! It's been awhile." Tony said to the man waiting to enter the elevator.

"Agent Dinozzo. It sure has been awhile. How are your lungs doing? Your not here to see me about them I hope?"

Tony laughed. "No, my lungs are doing fine. My partner and I are just here to check on some kids found at a possible crime scene."

Dr. Pitt looked curiously at Ziva. "Oh? So is this beautiful lady your partner now? I thought your partner was Kate?"

"I'm sad to say that Kate died in the line of duty a while back. This is Ziva David." he told Dr. Pitt. "Ziva, this is Dr. Pitt. He's the doctor I had when I had the plague."

"Well, I must say Agent Dinozzo" said the doctor "you seem to have good luck to have TWO lovely ladies as partners!" He held out his hand which Ziva shook. She smiled at his comment.

Tony smiled too. The doctor was right. He WAS lucky. Kate was cute, but Ziva in all her dangerous glory was beautiful. He wasn't going to let that on to Ziva though. She might just take offense and kill him with a paper clip if she realized what he thought about her.

Instead, he changed the subject. "Dr. Pitt, could you tell us where pediatrics is? I know its on this floor somewhere."

"Down the hall, take the second right. What kids are you here to check on?" Dr. Pitt asked.

Tony replied "Janna and Jason Kirste. You're not their doctor are you? I didn't think you did pediatric."

Dr. Pitt looked surprised. "As a matter in fact, I was just called to consult with their doctor about them. I take it they are in NCIS custody now?"

"Yes" Tony stated. "We think they may be witnesses to the death of a petty officer, their mother."

"Well, without official paperwork, We're not supposed to discuss their case. But if it is official?" responded Dr. Pitt.

"Do you want to clear it with Gibbs?" asked Tony with a smirk on his face.

"Umm, no, I remember Agent Gibbs. I'll take your word for it. I was called to consult because both of them have serious respiratory infections. From what I understand, they came from a house covered in cat urine and feces, is that correct?" asked Dr. Pitt.

"Yes, thats correct. Most disgusting house I've ever seen. Had to be at least 200 cats in there."

"That would explain it. Dried feces inhaled into the lungs would cause the kind of infections I'm seeing. They should be alright in a few days as long as they are not exposed again. We have them on some pretty strong antibiotics" said Dr. Pitt.

"Anything else you can tell me?" asked Tony.

"Not really. You'll have to get the rest of the information from their doctor. That would be Dr. Theresa Anderson. I think she's in with them now. They're in room 3145. I should warn you though, she seemed pretty pissed."

"Thanks for the information. It was nice to see you again" said Tony.

"Nice to see you too." Dr. Pitt replied. "Make sure you come see me if you start having problems again!" The elevator doors opened again, and Dr. Pitt entered.

Tony waved a casual goodbye at him. "I will or Gibbs will slap me." The elevator doors closed and Tony turned to look at Ziva.

"Shall we go Zee-vah?" he said. He turned and headed down the hallway.

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They found Dr. Anderson just walking out of room 3145. She was a tall woman in her forties who would have been quite pretty if it hadn't been for the scowl on her face. Dr. Pitt was right, she looked really angry about something.

Ziva stepped up and approached her. "Dr. Anderson?" she asked.

The woman looked at her. "Yes, I'm Dr. Anderson. Can I help you?"

Ziva gave her a smile. "Yes. We are here to check on Janna and Jason Kirste. I am Ziva David, from NCIS. This is Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo." she said, introducing Tony. "We were told you are in charge of their case?"

"Yes, thats correct. Are they in NCIS custody?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"At the moment, yes" replied Ziva. "I believe we are currently looking for their next of kin to take them. Their mother was killed this morning and their father died a few months ago. They were being cared for by the paternal grandmother and her husband for the last few months."

Dr. Anderson's scowl deepened. "Cared for is not the word. These children have certainly not been 'cared for'. They both have severe respiratory infections, have bruises all over them, are malnourished and are seriously traumatized. When they arrived, they were covered in fleas! Besides the physical and emotional abuse, we also suspect sexual abuse as well. We have run rape kits on both of them. We should have the results shortly. I hope you arrested those people?"

"They are currently at NCIS for interrogation" said Tony, entering the conversation.

"Good" the doctor said. "They deserve to be. Anyone who treats children this way belongs in jail. I'll write up the reports for you. They will be done within the hour. If you even THINK of letting those kids go back where they came from I will have you up on charges!"

"No fear of that Doctor. I think our boss was just as angry as you are. Can you tell us anything else about them? Can we see them?" asked Tony.

"Well," Dr. Anderson said, "As near as we can guess, they are almost 4 years old, brother and sister twins. I believe this abuse is recent, probably began occurring in the last 3 or 4 months. They will have to be here for at least a week. It will take them that long to get over their infections. You can see them but I advise you don't make any sudden moves and that you speak very softly. They tend to flinch at any noise. My guess from my own observations is that they are more scared of males than females, though both sexes seem to frighten them." The Doctor sighed. "Just go slowly. Let them make the first moves. Don't try to force anything on them and don't try to make them talk just yet. I think they will open up once they realize they are safe. Thats the best advice I can give you right now."

"Thats enough to start with." said Ziva. "Did you keep the clothing they were wearing? We need to send it over for evidence."

"Yes," replied Dr. Anderson. "The nurses put them in sealed bags since it was infested with fleas. I'll have them brought up to the nursing station for you. They wanted to burn them but I told them you might need them. The kids are going to need clothing when they leave. Is that something you would handle?"

"We'll take care of it", said Tony. The idea of sending Ziva out to buy children's clothing appealed to him in some strange way. He decided he was safer not following that line of thought.

The doctor nodded and walked away, leaving Tony and Ziva in front of the room. They walked in quietly to see two children in bed hooked up to several IV's. Both of the children were underweight for their apparent age. Both of them also had dark brown curly hair and bright green eyes. It looked like the nurses had made an effort to clean them up, their hair was no longer matted but no soap in the world could wash away the dark bruises from their faces and arms. Tony and Ziva suspected those bruises continued to other parts of their bodies as well. Their very pale skin under the bruises and the slightly bloated stomachs gave a hint to the malnutrition they had suffered. These kids were in sad shape indeed.

The children looked up at their entrance, a look of fear on their tiny faces. However, when the children realized they were strangers, they seemed to calm a bit. Tony carefully approached Jason's bed with Ziva at his back. She was looking at little Janna who was in the bed next to Jason. The closed expression on her face told Tony all he needed to know. Ziva was angry as hell and was trying not to show it to two such delicate children.

"Hey there" said Tony quietly to Jason. "My name is Tony. This is my partner Ziva. We're here to check on you."

The little boy gave him a look more consistent with someone years older. "Are you a doctor?" Jason asked.

"No, I'm with NCIS. Thats Navy Criminal Investigation Service. I'm here to find out what happened to you." Tony replied.

The little girl spoke up. "Do we have to go back to grandma and grandpa?" The fear in her voice was apparent.

"No, little one. Janna, yes? You will not be going back there. We do not think it is safe for you to be there." said Ziva.

"I don't want to go back to the mean people" said Janna, with tears in her eyes. "I wanna see mommy". She started to cry. It was more than even Ziva could take. The broken and hysteric sobs reminded her too strongly of herself years ago. She pulled up a chair next to Janna's bed and held out her arms to the little girl. Janna almost fell over out of the bed and buried her face in Ziva's shirt.

Jason continued to look at Tony with a some what jaundiced look. "Are you going to take us away from Grandma and Grandpa?" he asked.

Tony considered his options. These were two smart little kids. "Jason, I don't think you will be going back there. We are trying to find someone... nicer.... to take care of you. Someone without so many cats."

The little boy looked at him and nodded. He gave a quick look at his sister before looking down at the bed. Finally he asked Tony "Was that Mommy in the living room?"

Tony decided honesty was the best policy in this case. He sighed. "Yes, Jason. That was your Mommy."

Tony could see that Jason thinking very hard. There was obviously a lot going on in that little head. Jason finally asked "Why was she sleeping on the floor?"

Tony took a deep breath. He looked over at Ziva, hoping she might have an idea of how to answer that question. She was already holding a trembling Janna in her arms and by the expression on her face, she wasn't looking forward to telling these poor children that their mother was dead either. They had already been through so much.

Tony's lack of immediate response was enough for the little boy. As tears streamed down Jason's face he said to Tony "She's dead, isn't she? Grandpa said he would kill her if she came being nosy and he did, didn't he? That was what that loud bang was." Tony could only nod. The little boy started sobbing.

It was too much for Tony and he followed Ziva's example. He pulled up a chair next to Jason's bed and opened his arms to the little boy. After a moments hesitation, the little boy crumpled into Tony's arms.

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Gibbs walked out of the elevator into Abby's lab. It was no surprise to him that the music was going at full blast. He wondered how McGee could stand it.

Abby was standing at the table in the lab looking at something when Gibbs walked in. He yelled over the noise. "Abs, you got anything for me?". He handed her a Caf-Pow he picked up on the way. Then he walked over to turn down the music to hear her reply.

"Gibbs!" Abby shouted. "I knew you would be here. I just knew it! Your psychic powers are still working!"

Gibbs gave her an amused look. She was really convinced he was Superman. "What have you got for me Abs?"

"Well", she replied "Nothing much yet. I've ran DNA on the hairs I found in the hairbrush Ziva brought in and linked it to the blood evidence. I can tell you that the children are definitely from Michelle Kirste. I can also tell you that Karen Michaels is their grandmother on the paternal side. The man, Steven Michaels, is not related to anyone else in the house. However, the DNA we collected from Steven Micheals and Kevin Kirste is also on the bed sheets from both Janna and Jason Kirste. Since that DNA on the sheets is in the form of sperm, we can logically say that the kids were sexually abused by both of them. I'm going to keep checking the DNA to see if I can find anything else."

Gibbs just nodded. The idea of someone sexually abusing a child sickened him but he had begun to suspect it. "Anything else Abs?"

"Most of the hairs in the brush are from Janna and Jason but there are also hairs from someone completely unrelated to everyone else in the house. All I can tell you about it is that its female." said Abby. She continued "I checked the bullet that killed Michelle Kirste. I matches the rifle found at the scene and Steven Michael's fingerprints are all over the bullet and the rifle."

Gibbs leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Good work Abs."

He turned to McGee, who was sitting at the computer. "McGee?" he asked.

McGee looked at his boss. "I've been checking the records. Petty Officer Michelle Kirste arrived at the Navy shipyard from USS California around 6:00 this morning. At 6:12 this morning, a call was placed to the Michael's house from a pay phone here on base. They knew she was coming boss. That shooting was not an accident. It was murder."

Gibbs nodded. He had begun to suspect that too. "Anything else McGee?"

"I've been looking at a letter Ziva found on the table. Petty Officer Kirste was asking about her kids. By the tone of it, she sounded a bit worried about them. If she suspected the conditions they were being kept in, I can understand. She also said in the letter that when she came back she was looking forward to seeing someone named Sasha. I don't know who this Sasha is but I'm looking through the records. It sounds like it might be a friend of hers. I thought if we could find her we might be able to interview her. She might have some information for us."

Gibbs nodded. "Keep working on it McGee".

He turned and entered the elevator. He should be getting word from Tony and Ziva soon.

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	4. Chapter 4

Blah blah blah. I don't own them. Though if CBS wants to use this for an episode, feel free. I won't ask for money or credit. I'd just like to see the story on TV! (Just not in quite as much detail, if you get what I mean.)

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Hell House

Chapter 4

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It was Friday morning and Gibbs stood at his desk with his ever present coffee in his hand awaiting the arrival of his agents. McGee was already in the bullpen, working silently away on his computer. He had been there until 11:00 with Abby last night before Gibbs told them to go home. He had gotten a message from Tony and Ziva but it only included the basics. The kids were alive but that was about all. He really wanted to get more information.

Gibbs watched as Tony and Ziva finally dragged their butts into the office. The look of them told him how their night went without even asking. The were both pale with dark circles under their eyes. Tony just looked exhausted, more mentally than physically. Ziva had her lips tightened to a thin line and her eyes were narrowed. He had seen that look on her face before. Right before she killed someone. Whatever happened at the hospital with the children could not have been good.

He waited for his agents to sit down before he barked out "What have you got for me?"

Tony glanced at Ziva and sighed. He knew that Gibbs, having been a parent himself, was not going to like what they had to say.

"Boss," Tony started "Those kids have been through hell. Both of them show signs of recent physical and sexual abuse. They are covered in bruises. According to Dr. Pitt, they both have lung infections caused by breathing in cat feces and according to their attending Doctor, Dr. Anderson, they are suffering from malnutrition as well."

Ziva continued the story. "Dr. Pitt believes they will recover from the infections but both of them are very war shy".

"Battle shy Ziva. You mean Battle shy, not war shy." Tony corrected without his usual enthusiasm. He looked at Gibbs. "She's right though Boss. Both were very jumpy until they realized we weren't going to hurt them. Then when we had to tell them their mother was dead....." Tony paused to pull his thoughts together. "The poor things broke down into tears but seemed to be pretty happy they weren't going back there. We spent the night with them. Once they realized we were friendly they didn't want us to leave. They didn't like the thought of being left alone. From what little they could tell us, most of the time they were living in that house they were locked into their rooms with the cats and only given food occasionally."

"I also believe that the times that they were not left alone was just as scary for them." stated Ziva. "Every time one of the nurses walked into the room they would jump up and look frightened. I do not know why they seemed to like us so much. Janna told me I made her feel safe." She gave Gibbs forlorn look. "I hated leaving them there Gibbs. We told them we would be back. No child so young should be so frightened."

"Did Dr. Anderson say anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Only that they are traumatized and it will probably get worse before it gets better. She suspects that once they feel safe they are going to start having very bad nightmares. She thinks they should be able to be released from the hospital in a few days but suggested we get them to start counseling as soon as possible" Ziva said, reaching down into a large paper bag she had brought with them and pulled out several papers. "She also threatened us with legal action if we even considered sending them back to their grandparents." She looked back down into the bag. "Here are the reports from Dr. Anderson. The rest of this is evidence. I'll bring it down to Abby."

"No chance of them going back." replied Gibbs. "We already have all the evidence we need to charge them for child abuse and neglect."

Ziva perked up. "You will let me help interview them regarding Petty Officer Kirste, yes?"

Gibbs gave her a long look. He could tell that letting her get anywhere near those monsters would probably lead to blood covering the walls. "No Ziva," he said firmly. "We don't need to interview them just now. We have enough evidence on other things to put them in jail. Lets finish finding evidence to show Petty Officer Kirste's death was deliberate before we unleash you on them."

"Um Boss, I think we might have some." said Tony. "Jason told us last night that Steven Michaels had said that if their mom came to pick them up and "was being nosey" that he would kill her." Ziva nodded in Gibbs' direction, showing she had heard that statement too.

"What did he mean by 'being nosey'?" Gibbs asked.

"We don't know and we were afraid of asking. The children are upset enough as it is. But doesn't that mean Steven Michaels did not want Michelle Kirste being curious about something? What was he afraid of her finding? Or was he just afraid of her finding her kids in that condition?" Tony asked.

"Good question. Find the answer Dinozzo. Did they say anything else?"

"Abby texted us last night about their mothers friend Sasha and wanted to us to ask them about her. They did not seem to recognize the name. Either it is someone they do not know or they do not remember". Ziva replied.

Gibbs nodded in acknowledgment.

"What is going to happen to the children Gibbs? Have we found a next of kin to take them?" Ziva asked quietly.

"McGee?"

"On it boss. There are no other living relatives on the fathers side. Thomas Kirste only had his mother and brother and they are both downstairs. His father died several years ago. Michelle Kirste's maiden name was Hartman and it appears she was an only child. Her mother is listed as Joan Hartman. No father listed on her birth certificate though. I haven't been able to locate Joan Hartman yet. As for Steven Michaels, he's only been married to Karen Michaels for 3 years. His last marriage ended in divorce. His ex-wife died six months ago. I'm still gathering information on him from the databases."

Gibbs nodded and indicated McGee should continue.

"I searched the databases for any other information and got a hit. The FBI's cyber crimes unit has had Kevin Kirste on their list for awhile now for possibly producing child pornography. They are sending over the information now."

Gibbs winced. This case was getting worse. "Any information on the name Sasha?"

"Not yet. I'm guessing the person was someone all of the adults knew and was from the area if Michelle Kirste was looking forward to seeing her. I haven't got any hits yet."

"Keep trying. Anything else McGee?" he asked.

"Animal Control called. They rounded up all the chickens and pigs in the yard and put them in the care of a local farmer. They also pulled out 176 live cats from that house last night but they think there are still more in there. Most of the cats are in bad enough shape that they will probably have to be put to sleep. The rest of them they are going to offer for adoption unless we want to hold them for evidence. They also found some 25 dead cats, including the ones Ziva found in the freezer and in the children's room."

"Call them back McGee. We don't need them for evidence. Let Animal control know they can put them up for adoption".

"Yes Boss". he replied and immediately picked up the phone.

"Dinozzo, David, get this all written up and then get yourselves down to Abby's. She's going to need help sorting all that evidence."

They both nodded at Gibbs. Gibbs turned his back and went to find some more coffee. It was going to be a long day and Vance was going to want an update.

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It had taken Tony and Ziva all morning to complete their paperwork. They worked on it with unusual silence, both too disturbed and exhausted to tease each other. The previous night had been hard on both of them. They had already made plans to go see the children again soon as they had some time free. They could not just walk away and leave those children to face this all alone.

Tony glanced up at Ziva, to see her blankly staring at her computer screen. He had not seen Ziva cry very often. Everyone seemed to think her Moussaud training had made her impervious to compassion and pain. They were wrong. She had cried for hours last night over the children. The sight had broken Tony's heart. He would have loved to take her in his arms and comfort her but the trembling little boy he was holding needed his comfort even more than Ziva did. After a few hours, Ziva's tears had disappeared from her face to be replaced with a look of killing rage. Gibbs had been right to keep her away from those people. If Ziva got her hands on the monsters who had done this ......... He shied away from that thought. They would be lucky if she ONLY killed them. He was well aware that her training included not just how to kill people but how to torture them and he had a feeling that she wanted to make them HURT before she killed them. He really didn't want her up on murder charges, no matter how justified.

"Ziva" he called softly, breaking her train of thought. She gave him a startled look. "Gibbs wanted us to go down and help Abby. Is your paperwork done?"

Ziva nodded and stood up. She dropped several papers on Gibbs' desk and picked up the brown paper bag that held the children's clothes from the hospital. She walked silently to the elevator with Tony trailing behind her.

When they entered the elevator Tony took another look at Ziva's face. It was still strained and her eyes showed she was deep in thought. He decided to do a Gibbs and reached over to stop the elevator. She glared at him.

"Ziva, do you want to talk about it? We really didn't get a chance last night. I'm not too happy about this case either." he said gently.

Ziva did something completely unexpected. He expected her to start yelling or flatly deny she was upset. Instead she dropped the bag to the floor and leaned into Tony. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, buried her face into his chest and began crying again.

Slowly as if not to startle her, he lifted his arms and wrapped them around her in what he hoped was a comforting embrace. Then he just held her, occasionally running his hands through her hair and let her cry herself out. After her crying had been reduced to sniffles he pulled a tissue out of his pocket and silently handed it to her. Just as silently she took and began dabbing her eyes with one arm still clenched tightly around him.

Now that she had stopped crying Tony realized how good it felt to hold her in his arms. He could smell the sweetness of whatever shampoo she used and could almost feel his skin burning where it came into contact with her skin. He was amazed and humbled to think that this very strong, independent woman could feel comforted and safe in his arms. Belated, he realized that their close contact was turning him on a bit. He mentally Gibbs slapped himself.

"She's your partner you idiot!" he said to himself. "She's having a very bad day and she's really upset. This is NOT the time Dinozzo! Definitely not the time to be thinking those thoughts!"

He softly kissed her on the forehead and let her go. It was then that he realized he had been crying along with her. She gave him a smirk and handed the tissue back to him to use on his own eyes. After dabbing them he saw Ziva reach over and switch the elevator back on. They could talk about it later. Right now they had work to do.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimers on the first page. Do you ever wonder if anybody from CBS ever reads these things? And if the actors and producers do, do you ever wonder what they think of what we do with their characters?

Can you imagine the look on the faces of Michael and Sean if they ever read the graphic slash fiction about their characters?

No, they probably don't read these things.... I hope.....

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Hell House

Chapter 5

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Gibbs entered the elevator on his way down to see Abby with a Caf-Pow in his hand. The update of the case with Director Vance had taken longer than he had thought it would, not to mention they were still working on the Domino leaks. It was almost 1:00 when he finally left MTAC.

He exited the elevator to find Abby facing the doors. She was standing with her eyes closed and her hands in the air with her fingers crossed. He smiled, though he really wished Abby would quit thinking he was psychic. "What have you got Abs?" he asked.

"Gibbs! I knew you'd hear me! I knew it!" she said while bouncing on her heels. She reached over for the Caf-Pow.

Gibbs pulled the drink out of the reach of her out stretched hands and repeated "What have you got for me?"

"Okay!" She turned to her computer screen. "Well, two things really. The first one is that we can now prove Petty Officer Kirste's death was murder. At least, I'm sure we could convince a court that it was. I finished the examination of her clothes". She pointed to the white uniform laying on the table. "There is gun shot residue from the gun barrel on her jacket. I mean, you would expect that but the amount and the burn marks show that the gun barrel was right up against her back when the gun fired. He fired literally at point blank range. There is no way Steven Michaels could have possibly not known who it was or think it was some trespasser. I mean, according the crime scene photo her body was like, 20 feet into the house. He walked up right behind her and shot her. This was definitely murder Gibbs!"

Gibbs leaned over and kissed Abby on the temple then handed her the Caf-Pow. Her report confirmed Ducky's conclusion that the shot was fired at close range. Now he could file murder charges against Steven Michaels to go along with the child abuse charges. He turned to walk back to the elevator.

"Wait Gibbs!" He turned to face her again. "I said there was a second thing! Look!" She pointed at the computer. He walked up behind her to look. "It was an accident but we solved another case too! Remember that Jennifer Courtland case you gave Tony to look at this week? The teenage girl murdered about 10 years ago? Guess what? The DNA found on her matches the DNA we took from Kevin Kirste! I checked the records and found out that he was living in the area and going to school with her when that happened. So now you can file TWO murder charges!"

He smiled at her and kissed her again. "Good work Abs!" he said.

He started to walk back to the elevator and stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at Abby once more. "Abs, I thought I sent Tony and Ziva down here to process evidence. Where are they?"

"Oh, well, I didn't really need their help. Ziva had mentioned she wanted to pick up a few things for the kids and she seemed really upset so I told her go buy some stuff for them. Tony went with her. I know Tony texted you. Don't you ever read your messages?"

Gibbs pulled out his phone and sure enough, there was a message from Tony saying they needed a break and would be back shortly. He closed the phone without comment. They probably did need a break given how strained they both looked this morning. He headed back to the elevator and went to find McGee.

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Gibbs found McGee right where he expected to: sitting at his desk in almost Zen-like tune with his computer. While Gibbs was grateful to have someone so well versed in computers on his team he couldn't understand McGee's love of them. He could barely work his own cell phone. How could you love a piece of plastic that was so... complicated?

"Got anything McGee?"

"Yes boss. I located Joan Hartman, the mother of Petty Officer Kirste. She died two years ago from a heart attack. I haven't been able to find any other relatives yet. Still working on it."

"McGee, find out why Petty Officer Kirste wasn't called back when her husband died to take care of her kids. The Navy usually gives emergency leave for the death of an immediate family member."

"Already checked Boss. It seems the USS California was doing some covert ops at the time of his death. They weren't accepting any communications except ones from the Pentagon. Apparently the Navy didn't feel that Thomas Kirste's death was enough of an emergency to break cover for."

Gibbs looked disgusted. "Tell that to those kids." McGee sighed and nodded.

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet. I'm still waiting on the information from the FBI crime unit. I've called them twice and they said they were sending it over but I haven't received it yet".

"That's because" a familiar voice said from behind them "We couldn't send it via computer. Not even under encryption. It was either we let you into our database legally for a change or I had to bring it over by hand" said Fornell. He was holding an envelope in his hand as if it was a live snake and handed it over to McGee. McGee opened the envelope to find several papers and CD disks.

" Fornell." nodded Gibbs. "Did you come over here to tell us we were stepping on your toes again and that you were going to take over the case?"

Fornell gave Gibbs a level stare. He didn't really like Gibbs but he had to respect the man. "No actually. Your people have gotten farther on this case in a day than we have in a year." Gibbs knew the admission cost him, Fornell hated to admit failure.

"At this point" continued Fornell "I don't care who gets them, as long as someone does."

Gibbs raised his eyebrow. "For what its worth, we have evidence to charge all of them with child abuse and neglect and we are charging Kevin Kirste and Steven Michaels with first degree murder. I'm sure there will be several other charges to follow."

Fornell nodded. "Doesn't the military code of justice still allow being put to death in a firing line for certain offenses?"

Gibbs just looked at him. "Yeah, I believe it does. They still do hangings sometimes too. Why?"

Fornell looked over at the materials he had given McGee. "You might want to keep that in mind. I don't usually like the idea of the death penalty but in this case I might make an exception." He turned and walked up to MTAC to visit Director Vance.

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Ziva was still shaking when they had gotten down to Abby's lab so Abby suggested they go do something else, saying she didn't really need their help.

After a quick discussion they decided they would go do some shopping for the kids. Tony had noticed over the years that shopping was a sure fire way to put any woman in a good mood. Something about spending money just warmed a woman's heart. In this case it was even better because it was necessary shopping for two someone's that really needed it. And the thought of shopping for children's toys with Ziva thrilled in him in a way he knew he shouldn't look at too closely. He sent a message to Gibbs saying they were taking a break and then went and grabbed his car keys.

They left the Navy Yard and headed a few miles away to Toys 'r' us. He was NOT going to let Ziva drive given how upset she still was. They didn't really talk about the case on the way, instead they talked about the things the kids needed.

"Tony, Jason does not need a baseball and a bat! He's too young to use it! Why don't you get him a stuffed animal instead?" Ziva said.

"Zee-vah, all little boys need baseball equipment. How can they learn about the game if they don't play it?"

"He can learn to play it later. Right now he needs comforting things. How about a book?"

"Figures you would suggest books. Not all kids like books Zee-vah. They don't even know how to read yet!" he responded.

"How can they learn to read without books?" Ziva questioned.

The conversation went on like this until they reached the store. Ziva's eyes widen when she walked in. Tony figured she probably didn't have much reason until now to go in here. The place was a dream come true for any child. One look at Ziva's face told him she was going to go on a serious shopping spree. He hoped their credit cards would hold out. He walked over and grabbed a cart. They were going to need it.

Ziva made an immediate run for the children's clothing, picking up pajamas with Disney characters on them. "What do you think Tony? These are adorable! We can get this Little Mermaid one for Janna and how about this Cars one for Jason?" Tony rolled his eyes. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.

"I'm sure they will be fine Ziva. Just don't buy the whole store. They probably only need a few changes of clothing." Ziva gave him a distracted nod. Tony sighed. She was going to buy the whole store. Well, he HAD tried to warn her. Maybe her credit cards had a higher limit than his did. "I'll go get some toys. Don't take too long. We still have to get back to work and I can only fit so much in my car." Ziva had already draped the selected pajamas over her arm and was digging through the rack for more. Tony just shook his head and walked over to the toy department.

While Tony would rarely admit it, when he shopped for things for himself he liked to take his time. Today he didn't have the time so when he went into the toy department he began to pick things up more by random than design. After he had filled the cart with a few dolls and stuffed animals, legos, cars and even a few books to please Ziva, he stopped by the electronics department and bought both of the children their own game boys, one in pink and one in blue. Yes, it was expensive but what kid didn't love electronics? He picked up a few games and then a few DVD's before he went back to find Ziva.

He found Ziva, as he expected, with her arms full of clothing. Along with several pairs of pajamas that the kids could wear while in the hospital she had added several t-shirts, jeans and dresses. It was really more than they could store in the hospital room but he wasn't going to tell Ziva to put it back. Maybe he could bring in some suitcases to store it all in and keep it next to their beds or something. There was no doubt that they would eventually need the clothes anyway.

"Zee-vah, didn't I mention that you shouldn't try to buy the whole store?" he joked with her. He took the clothing out of her arms and dumped them into the cart.

"I did not buy the whole store Tony", she said with a smile. "As you can see, there are plenty of things left".

Tony rolled his eyes. He knew she had understood what he meant; she was just being so literal just to tease him. Then on the other hand, the fact that she was back to teasing him meant she was in a better mood now than when they had left. He decided not to make an issue of it.

"Are you ready to go? Gibbs is going to start looking for us soon." Tony said instead.

They walked up to the check out counter with Ziva pointing to which clothing she picked out for which child and telling Tony how cute Janna was going to look in the dresses she had found. He listened to Ziva chatter on as he piled their purchases on the counter and pulled out his credit card. He let her pay for the clothes while he paid for the toys. He winced when he saw the totals but figured it was all in good cause. He was going to have to put off buying those shoes he wanted for a few months. Oh well.

Loading the trunk of the car with all their purchases turned out to be a bit of a challenge. They had to re-arrange things and then stuff it all in tightly to make it fit. Tony finally slammed the trunk shut and turned to get into the drivers seat but found his wrist being held lightly by Ziva. "Tony," she said softly, looking down at the ground. "I just wanted to say thank you." She continued to look down. "This case is bothering me more than it should. I have seen worse when I was with Moussaud but it still makes me sick to see such things." She finally looked up and into his eyes. "The shopping helped." She said with a smirk.

He smiled and reached his hand out to pull her into a hug and was surprised when she didn't resist and even seemed to curl into his embrace. "Ziva" he said into her hair with his arms wrapped tightly around her. "It's alright. This case has us all on edge. No one likes to see things like this. We're doing what we can. They are being taken care of now, they will never go back to those people and those people are going to jail. We'll get them in therapy and we'll find them a good home. They are out of danger now."

He HAD meant to kiss her on her check. Really he had. But at the last moment she turned her head and met his lips with her own. Tony pulled back for a second in shock, but then quickly leaned forward and very deliberately kissed her, the gentle kiss of comfort turning into something far more passionate. He could feel her entire body pressed up against his own, her own arms wrapped around him just as tightly as his were around her. The contact made him feel as if he was flushed with fever. His mind completely shut down as he gave himself up to her.

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I know, not my strongest chapter but there are more thrills and chills ahead!

Thanks for the reviews everyone! I really appreciate them! Next chapter will be up soon, I promise! Please keep reviewing!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

blah blah whatever. You know I don't own them or you would have already seen this episode.

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Hell House

Chapter 6

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Tony and Ziva walked back in to the office about a half hour later. Both were wearing somewhat goofy grins and seemed to have a hard time looking at each other. Gibbs sighed when he noticed their behavior. They were acting like love struck teenagers. Apparently rule 12 had been seriously bent if not broken. Under the circumstances he decided to ignore it. There was too much going on right now for him to worry about it.

"Now that you finished your shopping," he said to them drily, "What else have we got on the case?"

"Nothing yet boss," said Tony boldly. "We're waiting for Abby to finish running evidence and for McGeek to finish whatever he's doing."

McGee looked up. "Boss, the files from the FBI are all encrypted and Fornell didn't give me the key. Either he forgot or he thinks it would be funny to make me work on it. This is going to take a few hours to break it."

"What did the papers say McGee?" asked Gibbs.

"Apparently there has been a long running investigation into the distribution of child pornography but the FBI wasn't able to get enough evidence to charge anyone, though they suspect Kevin Kirste was involved in it. We didn't find a computer or recording equipment at the house so thats no help. I'm sure the encrypted files contain more information."

"McGee, did you find anything for the children's next of kin?" asked Ziva.

"Not yet. Abby said she had some ideas on where and how to search so I sent it down to her."

"And Sasha"? asked Gibbs.

"Nothing so far boss. I ran a program to check the name in a 50 miles radius. We only found 3 matchs. One of them is a dog, one is an elderly lady in a nursing home and the last one is the star basketball player on a high school team 45 miles away. I haven't been able to find any connections for any of them to Michelle Kirste. I widen the search area and launched the program again. Its running down in the lab."

"Could Sasha be a nickname for someone? One of Petty Officer Kirste's friends?"

"Its possible. We could interview some of her shipmates to find out if we really need to." McGee said.

"Dinozzo! David! Get out there. It might be important. Ask everyone she had contact with if they know anything."

"Yes Boss." Said Tony. He and Ziva immediately grabbed their gear and headed for the door.

Gibbs called out after them. "Then check on the kids at the hospital. I want an update." They both nodded and left.

Gibbs watched them walk out shaking his head at them. Then he returned to his desk to work on his paperwork.

McGee also watched them walk out, wondering about them. He had seen the looks that had passed between his two fellow agents before they had sat down. Tony and Ziva together. Scary thought. He sighed and went back to his computer.

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Tony and Ziva had spent several hours interviewing Michelle Kirste's shipmates to no avail. Nobody seemed to know anything about Sasha, or anything else for that matter.

"She was a very private person" one of her shipmates had said."She would talk about her husband and her children once in a while but that was about it. I know she was upset when she found out her husband had died and was really angry that the Navy wouldn't let her leave immediately. We had just finished a classifed ops when she found out and the Navy said that they couldn't get her back for a few weeks. She went white as a sheet when she found out that her mother in law had her kids. I guess she didn't really like the woman. Thats about all I could tell you."

"Thank you" said Ziva. It was the most information they had gotten from any of them.

As Tony and Ziva walked back to his car Tony said "Well, that was a wasted trip."

"Not entirely Tony." she said. "We know now that she was upset about her children being left with those relatives. Perhaps she suspected how they would be treated?"

"If she was so concerned, why didn't she report it to someone then?"

"Perhaps she was not certain and feared that if she reported it, it would put the children in greater danger?"

"Its possible. Unless we get more information we'll never know."

They got into the car and Ziva pulled out her phone. She called Gibbs and gave him the information. Or rather, lack there of. When she hung up she gave Tony a bright smile. "Shall we go check on the children now?" Tony smiled back and put the car in gear.

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An hour later they were sitting in the hospital room with two children who seemed to be much happier now than they had been when Tony and Ziva had left. Janna and Jason had been happy and relieved to see them, to the surprise of the nursing staff. Dr. Anderson reported that while they were recovering from their infections and injuries well, they still seemed to be very nervous and frightened when people came into the room. It seemed that Tony and Ziva were the only ones they felt somewhat comfortable with.

The kids where thrilled with the all the toys they had received. They were already dressed in their new pajamas. Tony was leaning over Jason's bed, ecstatically showing Jason how to play the game boy. Jason's face was lit with a big smile that eclipsed the bruises still on his face. Janna was cuddled up in Ziva's arms, tightly clutching a stuffed animal as Ziva read a book out loud. Ziva couldn't help glancing up at Tony as she read. He had a way of constantly surprising her. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he would do something unexpected. Like right now. Who would have ever thought Tony could be so good with children? Granted, he was much like a big kid himself but the care he was taking with Jason showed a deeper side of Tony to Ziva. The way he didn't get too close to Jason physically until he knew it wouldn't startle the boy. The way he kept everything so light, from his conversation to his attitude so that Jason would stay comfortable with it. All of it showed that Tony was well aware that he was dealing with a child that had every reason to be frightened of him and was doing his level best to be comforting and gentle. The whole scene left her amazed. He would make a good father someday, she thought.

Tony was watching Ziva closely too. He never really thought about Ziva being a mother. Until now. The big bad moussaud agent was holding Janna in her arms as if she was made of spun glass. Her voice, which could be so cutting with the adults around her was now soft and soothing as she read to Janna. For some odd reason and against all logic, Ziva looked perfectly natural with the little girl. They even looked somewhat alike, with their curly dark hair. He could almost imagine he was watching a mother with her daughter. Of course, none of Ziva's children would ever have bruises on her face like Janna's. He was quite certain that Ziva would be ample protection against such abuse. No one intent on harming Ziva's children would ever have the chance with Ziva watching over them. He watched as Ziva finished reading the book, put it down on the bed and cuddled Janna closer, resting her cheek on Janna's head and began to rock her in her arms. Tony couldn't help smiling at the sweet sight.

Ziva, feeling Tony's eyes on her, looked over at him. The soft and contented look in Ziva's eyes right then warmed Tony's heart and his smile widened. She smiled right back seeing the happiness and joy on Tony's face. Who would have known that a tough special agent and a trained killer could be so happy taking care of children?

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Gibbs gave up on the paperwork. While they had a great deal of information and evidence, there were still too many things they didn't know yet. He wanted to get all the questions answered before he continued.

"McGee, what have you got?" he said, leaning back in his chair.

Gibb's voice had broken McGee's concentration on the computer code he was trying to hack.

"Nothing yet boss. I told you it was going to take a few hours. There are several levels of encryption here. It would have been easier if Fornell had just given me the key. Given the complexity, I'd say Fornell wanted to keep this information away from as many people as possible."

Gibbs sighed. There was no real use in telling McGee to hurry it up. He knew McGee was working as fast as he could. "Keep working on it McGee" was all he said. He needed more coffee. He got up to go look for some and to check on Abby's progress.

A check of Abby's lab proved she had left to get something to eat. The note she had left attached to the lab door said she'd be back in an hour. Not wanting to face the prospect of doing more paperwork or watching McGee commune with his computer, he decided to head over to the hospital. It wouldn't hurt to check on the children himself. He wanted to see them, and to see how his agents were coping with them.

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Gibbs had spoken to Dr. Anderson and gotten her report. Not that his agents weren't accurate but he thought that if he was here he might as well see if he could pick up any additional information they might have missed. He didn't find out anything new except that the staff were very impressed with his agents. According to them all, Tony and Ziva were doing better with the children than anyone else in the hospital. He smiled at that thought. Tony and Ziva?

When he found the room he stood just outside the door way and looked around the corner, wanting to watch his agents and the children before he approached them. While it broke his heart to see the injuries, he had to chuckle at the sight in the room. It looked like a toy store exploded. There were various kinds of toys all over the room as well as two huge stacks of new clothing. Apparently his agents had really gone on a shopping spree. Tony and Ziva were now sitting side by side, each with a laughing child on their lap as Tony read a book to them, doing his own rendition of the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. He was surprised that his agents looked so natural at this. He knew both of them had depths to them they very rarely let anyone see but he never imagined this. They looked as if these children were there own and not two children just recently found in such bad condition.

He stepped around the corner and smiled at his agents. "Are you two having fun?" he asked. The childrens reaction was immediate. They huddled down into the arms of Tony and Ziva as if his agents could protect them from the world. Gibbs did not move from the doorway on seeing their reaction. Tony and Ziva, recognizing that the children were frightened of Gibbs, set to comforting them. "Hey guys" Tony said to them. "It's ok. Thats Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, our boss. He won't hurt you." He smiled encouragingly at the kids. The kids peered at Gibbs, but didn't show any signs of wanting him to approach them. At least they had found two adults they weren't scared of thought Gibbs. That was good enough for now.

Before Gibbs could say anything else his cell phone ran. He looked at the caller id and answered it. "Yeah McGee?" He listened for a moment. Then he responded. "We're on the way" and hung up.

Gibbs looked at his agents and said "Lets go. McGee's got something."

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After giving the children a quick goodbye with a promise to return, Tony and Ziva left at high speed and caught up to Gibbs as he entered the bullpen. They found McGee sitting at his computer with a stunned and pained look on his face. "Put it on the plasma McGee" Gibbs said.

McGee gave his boss a long look, then looked pointedly at several other agents wandering around the room. "Um Boss, I think we should do this down in the lab."

Gibbs nodded in understanding and led them all to the elevator. In McGee's hand was one of the disks.

They walked into the lab to find that Abby had returned and was hard at work. She looked up in startlement as they all walked in.

"Abs" said Gibbs. "We need to use your computer".

McGee walked over and placed the disk in and typed something on the keyboard. Then he spoke. "The FBI has been running a sting operation, trying to shut down a child pornography ring but they haven't had much luck. This is some of the evidence they gathered. Some of it the FBI believes was sent to Kevin Kirste but some of it they believe he made himself."

McGee went over and stood next to Abby as the pictures began to run across the screen.

They were nothing short of horrific.

Within seconds Abby turned her face into McGee's shoulder and began sobbing hysterically. He placed his arms around her and held her tight. He wished he could hide his eyes too, but couldn't. It was his job. Instead he had to watch as horrible images of tortured children paraded themselves in a seemly never-ending flood in front of him.

They couldn't see the faces of the adults doing this, but they could see the eyes of the children, with all the visions of hell reflecting in their eyes.

Gibbs stood watching, seemingly impassive, though his stomach turned and his mind raged. They no longer needed to wonder what had happened to Janna and Jason. Now they knew in graphic detail.

Gibbs saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to find Ziva rushing to the door, Tony close behind her. Before Gibbs could react Tony jumped and took Ziva down in a flying tackle, pinning her to the floor.

She was screaming at him to let her go, she was going to KILL THEM and then began screaming in Hebrew. Tony kept his hold, even then realizing that attempting to restrain an extremely angry trained killer was a very bad idea. In that moment, he realized how much Ziva must trust him and care for him. Mostly because he wasn't dead yet.

And the images continued.

After what seemed like forever, Gibbs leaned forward and turned off the monitor. The room went silent except for the sounds of Abby crying and Ziva's profuse swearing. He looked at Ziva, writhing on the floor trying to get Tony off her. She had tears streaming down her face and was screaming about the "interrogation" techniques he wanted to use on the people who had done this before she killed them. "Ziva! Knock it off!" he shouted. She glared at him. "Damn it!" he continued. "They will get the death penalty anyway Ziva but we are going to do it legally! I don't want my agents up on murder charges, no matter how much those bastards deserve it!"

This seemed to stop Ziva for a moment. Then she wrapped her arms around Tony, put her face into his shoulder and started crying. Tony managed to get her to stand but she would still not let go of him. He just held on to her tightly as they both cried for the children they were coming to love.

A movement by the door caused Gibbs, Tony and Ziva to look up. Director Vance stood there, the broken toothpick in his mouth and fierce look on his face showed that he too had seen the images. He nodded at Gibbs and spoke. "I want full body pictures taken of those people down stairs. I want them compared to the adults in those pictures. I want to know exactly which adult did what to which child. I will do everything I can to make sure they are charged to the fullest extent of the law." He paused. " I think I'll have another team take the pictures. Then I'm moving them to federal lock up." He looked full into the faces of each agent in turn. "I don't think they are safe around you. Or me." He turned and walked out of the door.

Gibbs watched Vance walk out of the room. Then he looked around at his agents, Abby included. Vance was right. None of them could be trusted not to kill those monsters if they got into a room with them.

He watched as McGee led Abby over to her futon, sat down and pulled Abby down onto his lap. McGee wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her ponytails. Tony had gotten Ziva to sit down on one of the stools, still holding her tight as tears streamed down both of their faces.

Gibbs took a deep breath and stared at the floor. This was by far the worst case they had ever gotten.

They had no idea how long they stayed there in those positions before they heard a faint beeping from one of the computers.

McGee looked up, then kissed Abby gently on her forehead before moving her off his lap. He stood up and walked over to look at the screen. No one else moved.

McGee took in what was displayed on the screen before he gasped and looked at Gibbs.

"Boss. I got something on Steven Michaels. Five years ago he and his ex-wife adopted a baby girl from Russia. When they divorced, she got custody but when she died six months ago he got her back."

He put up on one half of the screen an image of a smiling little girl about six years old with auburn hair and eyes a burnished gold. It looked like a school picture. On the other side of the screen appeared one of the horrible images that they had just seen from the FBI.

The eyes of one of the savagely abused children were the same burnished gold.

"Boss, according to this report, she hasn't been seen since then." He took another deep breath. "The little girl's name is Sasha."

For one second, the room went completely silent. Then the agents as one broke and bolted for door at a dead run.


	7. Chapter 7

Again, whatever.

For everyone who has reviewed - thank you thank you thank you!

Mrs Turner, can you imagine if their "significant others" read this stuff?? LOL!

Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been a bit sick and wasn't up to writing. This is a pretty short chapter but I promise I will post more ASAP.

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Hell House

Chapter 7

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"Damn it Vance! There is little girl missing and that bastard knows where she is! I don't give a damn what his lawyer says, I want him in interrogation NOW!"

Director Vance glared at Gibbs, just as pissed as his agent was. Gibbs' team, including Abby, was standing right behind Gibbs looking just as furious, their eyes still stained with tears. "No Gibbs." he said, his own rage in his voice. "I know what will happen if I you get into a room with him! I don't want you or your team up on murder charges themselves! I told you I would take care of it and I will! Now get your ass out to that house and find her! MOVE!!!"

Knowing he wasn't going to get any more out of Vance and that this was wasting time, Gibbs turned tail and ran, his team right behind him. Vance called out to his retreating back "I'll send out another team to help search. FIND HER GIBBS!"

Gibbs didn't acknowledge Vance's words. He grabbed his gear and raced to the van, his team on his heels. The doors weren't even shut before Gibbs slammed it into gear.

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The house still looked and smelled the same as it did the last time they were here. There was still trash piled high everywhere: the only thing missing was the cats.

They had been here several hours now, searching frantically through the house and property for Sasha. The cadaver dogs were everywhere but hadn't found anything yet. Ducky had been on alert for hours and they still hadn't heard a word from Vance.

Gibbs was more pissed now than he had ever been in his life. He was pissed Vance hadn't let him near Michaels, he was pissed that he wasn't getting anywhere with his search. He wasn't even speaking to his agents and worked on in silence. The thought that there was a little girl that might be dead because he was too late sickened him. He'd been through that before. Worse, the idea that there might be a little girl still alive and suffering that he couldn't find... thats what was pissing him off the most. He knew his anger was showing to his team, they were just as silent as he was. All of them were showing the straining. All of them were tired and dreading what they knew they were going to find.

McGee was exhausted. The day had started early and had been an emotional roller coaster for all of them. He almost couldn't believe looking at Tony and Ziva's faces now, blank with horror and fear, that just a few hours ago they had been happy and blushing when they walked into the office. He looked at Gibbs, with fury showing in every line of him and knew he didn't really want to say anything to his boss. But this had gone on for hours now. Someone had to say something and since it didn't seem that Tony and Ziva would, it was going to be up to him to force his boss to reality.

He stood up from the last trash bag he had torn open and addressed Gibbs. "Boss, this is useless. We've searched everywhere and everything! If Sasha was ever here, she's not now."

Gibbs gave his agent a hard look. "McGee, I don't care what you think! My gut says she's here. We will damn well search until we find her! Get back to work!" Gibbs growled.

McGee sighed and leaned back against the wall. That action was met by yells from the team as he had inadvertently lended against the light switch, plunging the room into darkness. He quickly turned around and fumbled for the switch, turning the lights back on.

When the lights came back on, he found him self staring into the eyes of a very annoyed Ziva and Gibbs. Tony however wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the wall. "Hey Probie" Tony said in a tired but interested voice. "Do that again." Puzzled, McGee his the light switch and everything went dark. He waited a moment and turned it back on, looking at Tony with a raised eyebrow. Tony was still staring at the wall.

"I thought I saw...." Tony said. He stood up and walked up to the wall. "Again McGee!". Again McGee hit the switch, then turned it back on again. "Boss, isn't this an external wall?" Tony asked. Now Gibbs himself got up and walked over to where Tony was standing. "Should be, why?"

"Hang on" Tony said and began throwing trash every which way, clearing the wall of debree. "McGeek, hit the switch again." McGee did and instead of plunging the room into total darkness, the saw a tiny flash of light. The light steadied to show a very thin tread coming from a crack under the wall. "If this is an external wall, why is there light coming from the other side of it?" he asked ingeniously.

Gibbs immediately began checking the wall, looking for cracks on it and a way to open it. The rest of the team joined him, searching everywhere. They had searched for a good 5 minutes and Gibbs was about to get a sledgehammer when Ziva accidently pushed up against something and they heard a loud click.

The click however did not come from the wall. The entire team looked down at their feet and quickly stepped back. They bent down and cleared the trash from the floor and realized the flooring they were standing on was cut into a large square. Gibbs feel to his knees and pulled it up. Underneith was a small opening, no more than 2 foot square. The light had come from a tiny lightbulb attached directly over what apeared to be a ladder. Gibbs didn't even think. He swung himself on to the ladder and went down, his team watching from above.

The ladder went down about 10 feet and immediately to a door. He braced himself for what he might find and then carefully opened it. He was looking a what appeared to be a dark hallway, the light from above not really reaching down far enough to see much else. "Tony! Drop me a flashlight." It was Ziva that dropped it, she had already grabbed one. Gibbs caught the flashlight and peered down the short hall. It seemed to cut to the right. He slowly walked forward, testing each step. This place wasn't quite as dirty as the upstairs but was musty and moldy. He reached the end and turned to the right. What he saw made him gag.

It was a tiny room. It contained a toilet and sink, a table and an empty bed. The table was covered with old food wrappers and high in the corner stood a small shelf. Upon closer examination, he realized that the shelf contained a computer that was equiped with an internet video camera. That explained his gut feeling about this place. He had seen it before. On the videos. "McGee!" He shouted back down the hallway. "Get down here!"

He waited impatiently for McGee's arrival, then pointed at the computer. McGee immediately walked over and took it down from the shelf, looking at it closely. "Boss, they must have used this to make the videos the FBI found." He opened it up and looked at it briefly. "This is going to take awhile to find out whats on it. It give us some clues to what happened to Sasha. I need to take take it back to the lab and work with Abby on it though."

Gibbs walked over and looked over McGee's shoulder. "How long McGee? We don't have much time."

McGee took a deep breath. He understood his bosses anxiety, he felt the same way. "I don't know Boss. It depends whats on it."

Gibbs nodded. "Get on it. Tell Tony and Ziva to get down here. We need to bag and tag this." McGee walked out, leaving Gibbs to do a better search of the room. He didn't find much, nor any clue to what happened to the child. He pulled a new set of gloves out of his pocket and began to pick apart the bedding. As soon as he touched the bed, he felt a hard jab to his lower leg and then found his leg being painfully constricted by something.

The jab knocked him off balance, he would have fallen if he hadn't reached out to steady himself against the wall. He quickly aimed his light downward. From under the bed were two small arms, wrapped tightly around his leg. Gibbs froze. Then slowly, very slowly, he bent down, the arms not letting go. He gently lifted an obsuring blanket and found himself looking into eyes of gold and filled with misery.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you everyone for your reviews and patience!

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Hell House

Chapter 8

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Gibbs spoke in a soft whisper to the terrified child under the bed. "Ssh Sasha, it's ok. No one is going to hurt you. I'm Agent Gibbs. I'm here to help you."

She continued to stare at him without a word, though her grip had not eased. Gibbs tried again. "We've been looking for you. We came to take you away from here. The people who lived here aren't here anymore. They can't hurt you. Can you come out of there? We'll take you to the hospital, okay?"

Sasha looked at him for a several seconds in silence before nodding her head. She slowly loosed her grip on Gibbs leg. He slid back from his position on the floor as she crawled out from under the bed. He didn't attempt to touch the child. No telling how she would react. He need not have feared however. As soon as she was out she jumped at Gibbs once more, this time wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face in this shoulder, her whole body shaking in tremors of fear. He carefully stood up, holding her with care for the injuries the child probably had.

Tony and Ziva had just entered the room with Tony leading the way. They were astonished to see what Gibbs was holding in his arms. "Boss?" Tony said with a question in his voice. Gibbs looked up at him. "Dinozzo" he said quietly "Get an ambulance." Tony nodded and dashed back the way he came, leaving Ziva still standing in the tiny doorway.

"Gibbs?" Asked Ziva in her softest voice. "How badly hurt is she? Do you want me to take her?" Ziva took a few steps into the room.

Sasha reaction was unexpected and immediate. She took one look at Ziva and fought her way out of Gibbs arms. As soon as her feet hit the ground she darted right back under the bed. The agents looked at each other with surprise, Ziva 's face also mixed with a hurt expression. She thought she was getting so good with children! I mean, look at how she had done with the twins! Why had the child run from her? Ziva wondered.

Gibbs just sighed and wondered if Sasha was going to be like this with all woman or if it was just Ziva. He figured the former. Why Sasha feared women he didn't understand yet, it was usually the other way around. Right now he didn't have time to question it however.

"Ziva, why don't you go upstairs and call Vance. He needs to know we found her. I'll take care of this." he said.

Ziva blinked, then stepped back out of the room to follow his instructions. Once he was alone again with the little girl, he got back on his knees and peered under the bed. There she was, curled up in the farthest corner. He continued to talk to her in his gentlest voice.

"Sasha, its okay. That was Ziva. She works with me. She wouldn't hurt you and would probably kill someone to protect you. Matter in fact, she already almost did, tonight. I know she looks kind of scary but she's actually very good with children. I've seen her. I'll be right here with you. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."

It took several more minutes of coaxing to get her to come out, wrapping her arms around his neck again. He held her in his arms protectively as he walked out of the room and carried her up the ladder.

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The ride to the hospital had been rough. Gibbs could not get Sasha to lay down on the stretcher, nor let go of him. The paramedic had worked with her sitting on Gibbs' lap, gently examining her, then giving her a mild sedative. She had fallen asleep with her arms still tightly clenched around his neck. What frightened him the most however was that she had still not said a word or made a single sound.

He carried Sasha into the emergency room at Bethsedea to find Dr. Anderson waiting for him. She rushed forward to take her out of his arms. He tightened his grip on her and shook his head at the doctor. "Doctor, we have a problem." he said quickly.

Dr. Anderson stopped and took in the sight of the exhausted man and filthy child. "I would say we have several." she said drily. "So which one should we deal with first? Did this child come out of the same house as the Kirste children?"

"Yes, she did." He replied. "We found her in a kind of dungeon underground. I'm pretty sure she has been without food for at least two days and probably is in the same bad condition. The first problem is that she seems to be terrified of women."

Dr. Anderson raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Thats not unheard of but given the situation with the other children I wouldn't have expected that. Or at least, I wouldn't expect her to trust a man over a woman right now." She looked closer at the child. "Well, hospital policy says that if we run a rape kit on her it has to be done by a female. But I think if your right, any kind of examination by a female will send her into hysterics. I'd rather avoid that."

She sank back on her feet and thought for a moment. "How about we do this: I'll have one of the male nurses give her a heavier sedative that will keep her from waking up for a few hours. We can get all the examinations out of the way without her knowing about it. Then I'll transfer her case to one of the male doctors. We don't usually like to do that but I would say this is an extraordinary situation." She gave Gibbs a long look. "It seems she trusts you right now anyway. Would you be willing to stay with her for a bit? I don't want her having a panic attack when she wakes up."

Gibbs nodded. "I can do that."

"Then follow me" she said, leading him to an examination room.

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McGee had already left, taking off for the lab with the computer. Tony and Ziva had been left at the house to take pictures and to bag and tag. Ziva quietly examined the little room, shaking her head. "Tony, how could someone DO this to a child? His own daughter!"

"I have no idea." he replied. "My father was a jerk but even he wouldn't do anything like this." He sighed and gave Ziva a sad look. "This whole case has been insane. I know in a lot of cases of child abuse, its the parents hitting the kids around because they just don't know how to deal with them. This one though... it's like they were deliberately trying to be cruel. These people must be psychopathic, to have no empathy or care to what they were doing to these kids. Its sick."

"And this little girl Tony," she said softly "she was so frightened of me! She would go to Gibbs, but she hid from me! I am that scary?"

He wanted to give her a flippant answer. Something like "Ziva, you scare the hell out of everyone" but he knew that wasn't what she needed to hear just then. He could tell that Sasha's reaction had upset her so he tried for something comforting instead. He turned to Ziva and pulled her gently into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder. "Ziva, that child is probably even scared of McGeek right now. Maybe Gibbs just reminds her of someone she likes. She's pretty tramatized." he said. Then he thought for a moment. "You know, I wonder why Jason and Janna said they hadn't heard of her before."

Ziva bit her lip. "Maybe because Sasha has been down here since before they arrived?"

"That would mean she's been down here for several months. Poor kid. At least she's got Gibbs watching over her." Tony replied.

Ziva sighed from the comfort of Tony arms and looked around the room. "You have a point." Then she gave Tony a small smile. "And the twins have us."

Tony gave her a kiss on the forehead and smiled. "Yep, they definetely have us! Lets finish this up and go meet Gibbs at the hospital. When can check on the twins again." He let her go reluctantly, grabbed some evidence bags and set to work.

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Abby had stayed at the lab, wading through evidence in hopes of finding something. After a few hours of fruitless searching, she set up a few more samples to be tested in the spectrometer and curled up on her futon for a nap. She was so tired however that she feel deeply asleep and did not hear McGee enter the lab several hours later.

McGee walked in to find the lab silent and deserted. He thought that was odd, since he knew Abby was still here somewhere. At least, her car was still outside. He dumped the computer on the desk and looked around, finally spotting Abby curled up asleep. He couldn't help smiling. Her pony tails were in disarray and her makeup smeared. But he thought she looked gorgeous, with her head resting on her hands. She was still wearing the skirt she had come in wearing, a mini black one, that was now wrinkled but showing off a generous portion of her long legs clear up to her black underwear. He licked his lips appreciatively. She was really beautiful. Even though they only dated briefly and he didn't think she do it again, he had to admit, to himself at least, that he was still really attracted to her. Okay, he was in love with her.

He walked quietly over to her and bent down to wake her. He softly ran his finger down her cheek. "Abby, wake up".

Abby mumbled something in her sleep, leaning her head into his caress. He continued to touch her, revealing in the feel of her skin. "Come on Abby, you need to wake up." She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I heard you the first time Timmy. I was just enjoying you watching me. Remember when I wore my Marilyn Monroe dress?" McGee blushed. Oh yeah, he remembered it. Still had the pictures from it. She continued "I could have changed before I came in but I wanted to see your reaction. I really liked seeing you dumbstruck."

McGee blushed even harder. Abby was like this sometimes in the morning. He really needed to remember that.

"I need your help on this computer" he said to change the subject. Mostly because if she kept talking like that he would be unable to stand up without embarressing himself by how aroused it made him.

Abby sighed and slowly rose from the futon and stretched. She knew the effect she was having on him. When he was tired, all his defenses against her really came down. She secretly admitted she loved doing that to him.

"What computer?" she asked.

"The one we found at the house. It was down in the room with Sasha." he replied.

Abby woke up completely at that point. "What? You found her? Is she alive? Is she ok? Where did you find her? How did you find her? I thought you had already searched everywhere!"

McGee shook his head at her flurry of questions. "Yes, Gibbs found her. Yes, she's alive" he said. Then he explained what happened and what they found. He ended with "I think that computer is what they used to make the videos and publish them. We need to find how many videos were made and where they were sent to."

Abby nodded and threw herself into McGee's arms in an enthusiastic hug. "But you found her Timmy! Yay!" she pulled his head down and gave him a kiss. In the process, she pressed her entire body into his, thrilling at his physical reaction that she could feel pushing into her stomach.

McGee groaned into the kiss, both from frustration and arousal. She was really trying to kill him! He tried to back up, but she wasn't letting go. He slowed pulled his lips away from hers. "Um Abby, we really need to get to work."

"Aw Timmy! I was enjoying that!" she said playfully.

McGee had had enough. He was tired, the day had been an emotional hell of highs and lows and here she was toying with him. He couldn't stand it anymore. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and crushed his lips down onto hers, expecting her to decide she didn't want to play. At least then she would leave him alone and stop torturing him. Instead she deepened the kiss until they were both breathless. When they finally broke apart, Abby smiled at him.

"You know Timmy, your really good at that."

McGee just closed his eyes and winced. Working with her tonight was going to be really uncomfortable with her in this mood! He tried a different tactic. "Abby, please don't do that to me. I know you enjoy it but I haven't been on a date in forever."

"Thats your own fault McGee" she said in a mock stern voice. "All you had to do was ask, you know."

McGee was a bit startled. Just how had they gotten to this point? "Um Abby, didn't we already try that once?"

She gave him a mysterious smile. "Yes, we did. I missed you. We could always try again you know."

McGee rubbed his eyes, unsure of just how they had gotten from him bring a computer downstairs to having Abby in his arms like this in just a few minutes. Things were happening a bit too fast for him today. Yesterday. Whatever.

"Alright Abby. I give. How about we go out to breakfast and talk about this?"

"I thought you would never ask Timmy!" OH yeah, she was certainly in one of those moods again. McGee just sighed.

"AFTER we finish the computer work for Gibbs" he replied.

She gave him her pouting face, before walking over to examine the computer.


	9. Chapter 9

If I owned NCIS, I would be able to afford a new computer. I'm currently writing this with the key for "S" falling off.

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Hell House

Chapter 9

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Gibbs sat in an uncomfortable chair in the hospital room next to the sleeping child. Even deeply asleep she still clung tightly to his arm. He was exhausted but couldn't sleep. It was now 10am Saturday morning. The last two days had been hell on him and the entire team. All of them were emotionally drained and short on rest. This case was taking its toll on all of them.

He had spoken to the rest of the team just a few hours ago. McGee and Abby had still been in the lab at 6am, working on the computer found at the house. Gibbs didn't ask them what they had found on it. He wasn't sure he wanted to know right now. Instead he told them to leave the computer for later and to get some rest. McGee had sounded just as exhausted as he was, as well as sounding like he was at the end of his patience. Abby must have been giving him a hard time again. He smiled. Gibbs was well aware of their feelings for each other, even if they didn't talk about it. Maybe Abby finally decided to do something about it. Intense emotions like the ones that had been flying around the office in the last two days tended to put Abby in some weird moods. That was another thing he didn't want to deal with right now. Quoting rule 12 to the rest of his agents might make them pause but nothing was going to stop Abby if she really wanted something. He took a moment to feel sorry for McGee. If Abby was in one her "devil may care" moods McGee probably wasn't going to get much rest no matter how much he might need it. Oh well, it would probably do McGee some good. For a famous author you'd think the boy would get more dates.

Tony and Ziva had finished their examinations of the basement. They had dropped everything off at the lab and then headed here to check on the children they were watching over before they went home to sleep, just like he was watching over this one. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the situation. They were obviously becoming attached to the twins and the twins to them. He was rather surprised by it. He wouldn't have expected that those two would be so concerned about two kids they hadn't even known existed two days ago. Well, maybe Ziva, she was kinder than most believed her to be but Tony? That was the surprise. He didn't think Tony even liked kids. The wild frat boy was apparently growing up. The twins seemed to be really taking to them too, an important consideration in what could eventually happen to them. Usually they would place the kids with a relative but if one couldn't be found, they would be placed in a foster home. Given the children's trauma however, moving them into a typical foster home might not be a good idea. Foster homes were created for reason's like this but that didn't mean they were the best solution. Another problem might be a relative finally showing up months after the children was placed with the intention of moving the kids. That could be disasterous for the kids if they gained some stablity and then had it taken away by a well meaning but misinformed person.

Of course, there were some downsides to advocating for Tony and Ziva to take the kids. One of them involved work. There were times when they had to be out of town or work late hours on a case, something that made taking care of children a challange. The other problem would be that he if could get them to take the kids, he was pretty much telling them to violate rule 12. Raising the kids together would be the only logical option. That too would bring risks, to the children, to Tony and Ziva and to the team in general. It was something he had to consider. Maybe he could talk to Director Vance about it.

He looked over at Sasha. Here was another problem. All the same rules and problems applied but this child in some ways was worse off. Since she was adopted from another country, finding a blood relative for her would be impossible. She also appeared to be even more traumatized than the twins. He wasn't sure what to do with her. She didn't qualify as a Navy child so she had even less protection than the twins. She was only here at Bethsedea because of her connection with the case. What was he supposed to do with her?

He examined her more closely. Given the fact that she had the same dark red hair as his daughter had, you would think she would remind him of Kelly. Somehow she didn't though. Sasha was definetely her own person, just a confused and terrified one. The fact that for some reason she trusted him puzzled him. He knew kids in crisis fixated on odd things but that she thought he was "safe" didn't make much sense to him. Her fear of women in general didn't make much sense either. There had to be a story behind that one. He was almost afraid to figure out what it was. Not for the first time, he wished Jenny was still alive. Maybe she could have explained it. He would have liked to have her around just to talk to right now. He could have used her calm support.

Gibbs looked up at a soft tapping sound coming from the doorway. Dr. Anderson was standing there, checking to make sure the child was asleep before walking into the room. She smiled at Gibbs.

"You look awful" she said bluntly. "When was the last time you had some sleep?"

Gibbs winced. What was it with doctors who had to bother everyone in the hospital, not just their patients? "Sometime yesterday morning I think. Its alright. I've got coffee" he said, showing her the large cup.

Dr. Anderson just shook her head. "Coffee only goes so far. I would advise you get some real sleep soon."

Gibbs just nodded. "Did you get anything from the tests?" he asked.

"Well, we ran blood tests and the rape kit. The blood tests are consistant with someone who hasn't had food or water in a few days. The IV's we have her on should fix that pretty quickly. The rape kit however..." she paused before going on "came back positive, which you probably expected. I wrote up a report to go with the test results. If you need more physical evidence, such as DNA evidence from her hands or anything, your team is going to have to run it. The only person we have that can do those tests is out on leave at the moment."

Gibbs nodded. "Anything else?"

Dr. Anderson gave him a questioning look. "Yes, actually. Has she spoken to you?"

He shook his head. "No, she hasn't said a word. I was hoping it was just shock."

The doctor shook her head. "I was afraid of that. See if you can get her to say anything, even hello, when she wakes up. Some kids who have been really traumatized become mute. If thats the case, we really need to get her into special counseling. She'll need counseling anyway but you need someone specialized if she doesn't start talking soon."

Gibbs just sighed and nodded.

The doctor continued. "In the mean time, I think I would like to move her into the same room as the Kirste children. Being with other children in the same condition may give her some comfort, at least with the idea that she is not the only one who has gone through something like this. We don't have to tell any of the children right off that they came out of the same house. She may even be willing to socialize with them where she wouldn't with an adult."

"What about her problems with women? Ziva visits the twins with Tony and Sasha already showed signs of being afraid of her. Is this a good idea?" Gibbs asked.

"We're not going to be able to keep her entirely away from woman Agent Gibbs. Its just not possible. Besides, I've seen Ziva and Tony with the twins. They are VERY good with them. I think if Ziva doesn't try to approach too close to her but does speak to her, and Sasha can watch her taking such good care of the other children, she will eventually become less afraid of her. Its a matter of desensitizing her to woman. If you can stay with her while Ziva is also there and she sees you interact with her she will get used to seeing her. Its really neccessary at this point. I will give her a day in a private room though. We'll move her tomorrow. Hows that?"

Gibbs nodded, still not sure this was a good idea but not sure what else to do. Dr. Anderson continued. "Really, if you have some females that you know well that you can gently introduce Sasha to, it will help the her in the end. Just advise them to keep their distance and to talk quietly to her. And try not to notice when Sasha jumps. If she sees from you that its okay and normal to be around these women, she will take her cues from you."

Dr. Anderson gave him another long look. "In the mean time, I would suggest you get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep. Wait until she wakes up though and let her know you'll be gone for a few hours but will be returning. It will make her feel more secure." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tony is already busy visiting the twins, but do you think you could have him check on her? She might not be afraid of him. Or do you have another trustworthy male that could come and sit with her for awhile?"

Gibbs thought about it. "I think I can find someone."

"That would probably be best. If she knows someone cares enough to stay with her, it will help. I know this child is only your responsibility because she is involved in a case of yours, but I really appreciate what your doing. Most people would have just dropped her off and left. The fact that you are taking the time to watch over her is wonderful and will go a long way in helping her recover." Dr. Anderson said.

At that moment, they heard a sound from the bed. They both looked down. Sasha had woken up and was watching Dr. Anderson with frightened eyes. The doctor stepped back, but then addressed the child. "Hello Sasha. I'm Dr. Anderson. I believe you have already met Agent Gibbs." she said, pointing at Gibbs. "I wanted you to know that you are at Bethsedea hospital and we are going to take very good care of you, alright? If you need anything at all, feel free to ask Agent Gibbs and he will let us know."

Dr. Anderson waited for a response. After a few moments, the child nodded.

Dr. Anderson continued to speak directly to Sasha. "You have been through a very bad time, something no child, no PERSON, should ever go through. I want you to know, and Agent Gibbs will tell you the same thing: what happened was NOT your fault. You didn't deserve it, you didn't do anything cause it. It wasn't your fault, any of it. No one blames you for what happened, and we are rather proud of you for coming through such a horrible experience. I know your frightened and thats okay. Its perfectly normal. What you went through...it won't happen again. Agent Gibbs there will make sure it won't, and so will I. If it makes you feel any better, your not alone. Other people have gone through this too and understand how your feeling right now. We'll get you the help you need so that you can recover and won't feel so frightened anymore. There are people who care about you here and will protect you. Agent Gibbs for example. He stayed here with you all night. Things will get better, I promise. Okay?"

Sasha nodded again, then sat up, turned into Gibbs' shoulder and began to sob. Gibbs looked questioningly at the doctor as he wrapped Sasha in his arms.

Dr. Anderson smiled at him, nodded and spoke softly. "Good. This is actually really good. Let her cry herself out and release those emotions. Its the best thing for her right now. I'm really surprised. I didn't think she'd be able to do this yet. Its a very good sign."

She turned to leave. "Remember what I said: see if you can get her talk a bit. Then get one of your friends in here to watch her and get yourself home and get some sleep. I think if your willing to do this, your going to need your rest. The next few days are going to be really tough."

She left the room, leaving Gibbs with a crying child huddled in his arms. He only had one question: "What the heck am I supposed to do with her?"

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	10. Chapter 10

Sorry this took so long! Thank you for your patience. I had to get a new computer! Now that I have it I can finish this story!

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Hell House

Chapter 10

* * *

An hour later, Sasha had stopped crying and clinging to Gibbs long enough to eat several containers of Jello and a few pieces of toast. Now she was curled up in the bed, watching him with half closed eyes. The sedative that they had given her was rapidly leaving her system but just having eaten a good meal was putting her to sleep. He had tried asking her a few questions but other than a few shakes of her head, she still hadn't communicated anything. Apparently she wasn't ready to talk yet. He however, was ready to pass out. It had been a very long day.

"Sasha, you need to get some sleep. And so do I. I'm going to have to leave for a few hours, okay? I'll be back though. Are you going to be alright for a little bit?"

The little girls eyes widen, accompanied by a look of fear. Gibbs decided to try and head that off. "Are you scared you won't be safe if I leave?"

She nodded. Gibbs sighed. "Would you feel better if I had someone else come stay with you while I'm gone?"

Sasha gave him a sceptical look. He thought he understood. "I take it you would prefer that it isn't someone like Dr. Anderson or Ziva?"

She nodded again, still not saying a word, communicating with just her eyes. Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose and quickly thought through his list of people who wouldn't frighten the girl and had had a chance to get a good night sleep. He reached over, grabbed the phone and dialed. "Ducky, are you busy?"

* * *

Tony and Ziva had been exhausted by the time they had finished collecting evidence from the basement but they still wanted to look in on the twins before getting some rest. When they checked on the children however, they had found them asleep and decided not to wake them. Just down the hall they had ran into Gibbs. He was slouched in a chair watching over Sasha, with a coffee in his hand and a tired and worried expression on his face. They let him know about the evidence before telling him they were heading out. Gibbs just nodded, most his attention on the poor child who seemed much too small for the bed she was laying in.

By the time they reached the car, they were practically stumbling. Two days with little to no rest was more than even they could take. Tony unlocked the car and just about fell into the drivers seat. Ziva did the same thing on the other side. They just sat there for a few minutes, both trying to get up enough energy to make it home. Tony finally lifted his arms off his lap, placed the key in the ignition and then sagged for a minute against the wheel before turning the key. Ziva watched him for a moment before her tired brain caught up to her and forced her to speak.

"Tony, do you want me to drive? You are about to fall asleep." she said.

Tony looked at her and smiled. "So are you. I'll be alright, but I think we should get something to eat. We haven't had anything since yesterday morning. I think it was yesterday morning....".

Ziva really didn't want to stop anywhere. All she wanted now was a hot shower and her bed, not necessarily in that order. But she also knew he was right. Even this tired, she wouldn't be able to sleep with her stomach cramping for want of food.

Tony watched Ziva in silence, waiting for her to say something. He had to admit, he was starving and so should she be, but mostly, he just really wanted her company. Something about watching her the last few days, the kiss, the situation, something about her was fascinating him. Ok, well, fascinating him more than usual. She always fascinated him. The way she moved, her moods, the way she talked and mangled the language, her intelligence.... she was just amazing.

Ziva finally sighed and answered him. "You are right Tony. We both need to eat. Where do you suggest we go?"

Thirty minutes later found them in Tony's apartment. He had planned on stopping at his favorite diner, but when he drove past it, it had been packed with people. Since neither one of them felt up to dealing with a crowd and his place was just down the street, he invited her here. After digging through his refrigerator, he ended up making them cheese omelets with toast.

"Why Tony" Ziva said with amusement "I had no idea you could cook! I thought you just lived on Pizza."

Tony just laughed. "Man can not live on Pizza alone. Even me." He sat down at the table across from her and began shoveling the food into his mouth.

Ziva watched Tony eating like he hadn't eaten in days. Well, a day anyway. In all the excitement, they had both forgotten. She ate her omelet at a slower pace, taking the time to observe him.

The truth was, right now he looked awful. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin was pale and his hair was a mess. His signature Dinozzo shine wasn't there right now and he looked oddly endearing. The last few days with him had really surprised her. In a way, she had learned more about the Tony Dinozzo that he usually kept hidden than she ever expected to. Once he stopped trying to show off for every pretty female he encountered, Tony actually had a good side. Other than just his looks. He could be sweet, kind, generous and caring. Even more shocking, she also had learned he could be polite and considerate. And even looking as bad as he did right now, he really was good looking. And that kiss! That had made her skin tingle all the way down to her toes.

When he had finished eating, he looked up to see Ziva softly smiling in his direction. He was going to ask what was on her mind, but she spoke first.

"What do you think will happen with Sasha now that we found her? She certainly seems to like Gibbs."

Tony blinked. That wasn't a subject he expected her to bring up right this moment. He took some time to think about the answer as he picked up the dirty dishes and dumped them in the sink. "I have no idea. At least with the twins we might be able to find a relative, but if she was adopted from Russia, there probably isn't a blood relative her to take her. There might be someone on the adoptive mother's side of the family though. I'm sure Gibbs will have McGee checking."

Ziva nodded and moved to the couch. Tony joined her. "And what about the twins? If we don't find a relative? What happens?" she asked.

Tony sighed, mostly because he didn't like the answer. "They will probably be put in foster home somewhere until they can find a family to take them. " He didn't really like that idea. He didn't like to admit it, but the thought of the kids going away anywhere made him distinctly unhappy.

Ziva apparently felt the same way. "I would hate to see them go to someone who didn't love them Tony. They have been through enough already."

Tony leaned over to her and pulled her into a hug. She was taken off guard and fell into his chest. Tony smirked as he wrapped his arms around her. She must be tired. She didn't immediately hit him but instead snuggled into him. "Ziva, lets see what happens. Abby was working on a way to find their mother's relatives. We might be worrying over nothing." He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

To his surprise, Ziva's eyes fluttered shut at his touch and her head fell backward over his arm. Greatly daring, he moved just enough to plant a feather light kiss on her lips.

Ziva had felt a jolt of electricity run down her spine. She had wanted him for so long that she was surprised this was happening, even more surprised than the kiss they had shared in the parking lot. She reached up and pulled his head down, lifting her head just a little to return the kiss he had given her. She lost all track of time as their lips met.

Tony was shocked. First the kiss at the store and now this. In the past two days he had gotten to see a softer, more intimate side of Ziva but he hadn't really imagined he would ever have her in his arms like this. Or rather, he had imagined it often enough. He just didn't think his fantasy would turn into reality. He finally broke off the kiss when he couldn't breath anymore.

Her eyes slowly opened and she looked at him with an expression he didn't think he would ever see in her eyes. Vulnerability yes, but also...desire? Tony slowly stood up, taking her hand in his. She smiled, stood and wordlessly followed him into the other room.


End file.
